Winter Storm Leon is
headed directly for Baton Rouge. That may not be good news for the LSU and Kentucky
basketball teams.

With a winter storm
warning issued for the entire South Louisiana region starting at 6 a.m.
Tuesday, an 8 p.m. game between the Tigers and Wildcats at the Pete Maravich Assembly
Center is in the crosshairs.

The LSU athletic
department issued a statement Monday afternoon that plans remain in place for
the game as planned. ESPN is set to broadcast the game in its prime-time slot.

LSU's statement also
noted that personnel from the school and the SEC will monitor the situation
throughout the night.

Earlier Monday, Tigers'
coach Johnny Jones said the initial decision was up to SEC Commissioner Mike
Slive, but that Gov. Bobby Jindal could supersede any OK given by the league.

Jindal and his predecessor, Gov.
Kathleen Blanco, have intervened in the past when hurricanes wreaked havoc on
September football games in 2005 and 2008.

The good news is that
the Wildcats' charter flight arrived in Baton Rouge Monday night, and the three
game officials were either already in the Capital City or within reasonable
driving distance.

ESPN's broadcast tandem
of Brad Nessler and Dan Dakich also arrived.

So the only thing that
could be missing is a crowd - one that was expected to be one of the bigger
this season at the PMAC.

"We
will prepare (Monday) as if there will be a regular game," Jones said. "I'm not
sure if the game will go off (Tuesday) or Wednesday. The weather is certainly
going to have a lot to do with that, but we are conscious and aware of that.
Our practice and preparation will have to be the same as though we'll go off
and play.

"Should it happen that no one is going to be here and it's not going
to be a packed house, it will still be Kentucky. That game is going to count on
your win-loss record. You have to make sure that you approach the game the same
way."

To press or not to press

On a handful of
occasions since Jones took over for the Tigers, he has put his team into a
fullcourt press, and almost without fail, the high-octane defense has paid huge
dividends.

LSU point guard Anthony Hickey is one of the keys whenever the Tigers go to a full-court press defense that has been effective.Hilary Scheinuk, NOLA.com | Times-Picayune

That was certainly the
case Saturday when LSU's pressure fueled a stirring comeback from a 19-point
deficit by forcing 11 second-half turnovers.

A logical question
resulted: Why don't the Tigers press more often?

Jones said applying the
full-court look isn't something he game-plans on. Instead, situations dictate
when, if and how long LSU stays in the high-energy scheme.

"Not
such going into the game, but we know that it's available for us," Jones said. "Sometimes
the game will dictate it. If we feel like we're not doing a great job in terms
of tempo, we may go to it if we need to disrupt a team. If we happen to get in
a position like the other night and fall behind, you have to change some things
up and try to create havoc. We can do that as well.

"At the same time, we have
to be mindful -- that's not something you go out there and press for 40 minutes.
Because of the guys we have on the floor and the number of guys we happen to
have in our rotation, that's not something that we can really get into. We feel
comfortable doing it in the spurts that we do (press)."

Speaking of different defenses...

Because
LSU has been foul prone at times - particularly forward Johnny O'Bryant, who
has been called for two or more first-half fouls in nine of 18 games - another
question is why don't the Tigers rely on a zone more.

Zone
defenses are utilized for a number of reasons, one of the most prominent being
that it can protect big men from picking up ticky-tack fouls.

However,
zone teams sometimes struggle to rebound effectively, and that's a Tigers'
strength.

Jones
has put his team into a variety of zone looks at time (the press is rife with
zone principles, for example), but only rarely in halfcourt settings.

He
said the Tigers have the necessary components, namely long, athletic players,
combined with quick guards who can be disruptive at the top of a 2-3 or 1-3-1
zone.

"It really depends on
the makeup of your tem," Jones said. "You have to put yourself in a situation where
it's the best thing for your team. We've shown some signs for a few possessions.
It can be beneficial to our team.

"We have the makeup of a team that has the potential
to be a good zone team. It comes down to scouting reports: What's best for a particular
opponent."

O'Bryant and Jordan Mickey
are the two players who might benefit most from a zone, although it would
detract somewhat from Mickey's shot-blocking skills.

"I think a zone would
help us stay out of foul trouble," O'Bryant said.

Added Mickey, "If Coach
puts us in a zone, I'd be fine with that. I played it in high school, so I'd be
comfortable. But I'm comfortable with whatever Coach wants us to do."

RPI
report

The NCAA updated its
official RPI rankings on Monday, and LSU is headed the wrong direction after a
tough-to-swallow 82-80 loss at Alabama on Saturday.

The Tigers dipped from
64 to 65, not exactly a comfortable spot in terms of NCAA Tournament hopes.

The game with Kentucky
is one of three left on LSU's schedule against top-50 RPI teams. The others are
at Kentucky (RPI of 12) on Feb. 22 and at Florida (RPI of 5) on March 1.

Of the five SEC teams
in the running for potential NCAA spots (Tennessee, Missouri, Ole Miss and
Arkansas are the others), LSU is one of two without a win against a current
top-50 team. That could change if Missouri (currently 56th) crawls
back into the top-50.